


Dream as Droids Do

by fanofbooks_49



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Dreams, Gen, Memories, Pre-Battle of Scarif
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24812071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanofbooks_49/pseuds/fanofbooks_49
Summary: K-2 must make a memory backup before departing for Scarif.
Relationships: Cassian Andor & K-2SO
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Dream as Droids Do

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Rogue One Celebration Week on Tumblr. I chose to focus on K-2SO. The prompt was dreams/epiphanies and I chose to focus on dreams. Hope you enjoy!

K-2SO followed Cassian Andor out of the briefing room where the council was currently listening to Jyn Erso’s testimony. As Kay walked alongside his fellow comrade and friend, Cassian spoke to Kay quietly but urgently:

“I’m going to look for Melshi. You need to go to the Droid Maintenance Center and make a back-up of your memory card. Meet me at Dock 3 in 1030 hours.”

Kay watched as Cassian briskly walked away in the opposite direction, not bothering to hear Kay express the low odds of Cassian redeeming himself with Jyn Erso, the Guardians and the former Imperial pilot. Kay knew exactly what Casssian was planning to discuss with Melshi, and had his voice box allowed him to sigh, he would have done so.

It was unnecessary for Cassian to tell him that he needed to back-up his memory. As a former Imperial droid and current Rebellion ally, K-2SO knew that his demise was likely. He had calculated that there was a 97.6% chance of failure in obtaining the Death Star plans, afterall.

When Kay walked to the Droid Maintenance Center, it was deserted and this pleased K-2SO greatly. In his earlier Rebellion days, the Rebels had insisted that one of the droid mechanics foresee his memory and data backup; afraid that K-2 would somehow deflect to his original Imperial coding. It didn’t seem to insult Cassian, even though Cassian had argued with the Rebel leaders about the absurdity of the notion, but K-2SO took it upon himself to be insulted for Cassian. He remembered Cassian’s smirk at some of the more colorful insults Kay had used aloud to the faces of those said Rebellion leaders.

Though Kay knew the odds of the likely failure, K-2 was not afraid because it was not in his programming. Even as an Imperial droid, he had never been afraid - only enslaved. And Cassian had pointed out that that was a far worse predicament. He wondered if Cassian was afraid, though. Even if he asked, Cassian would never tell him. Before backing himself up, Kay quickly calculated that Cassian Andor was 48.9% afraid. Though the ratio was low, this troubled K-2. He filed the calculation into his memory storage.

Grabbing a blank data chip, he stared at it. Ignoring the impending doom in his circuits, he inserted the chip into the side of his neck. The sensation of placing the data chip into his neck pleased K-2SO.

Most organics assumed that droids were powered off when undergoing a backup, but Kay never understood how this idea was logical. How could he perform a backup on himself if he was not fully functional? Nevertheless, K-2SO was aware of his surroundings as he felt the surge of electricity flowing through his circuits. He heard the stomping of several boots walking down the hall, the woman on the intercom asking all pilots to report to Hanger 4 and the vibrations of newly landed aircrafts on Yavin IV.

Memory after memory was downloaded into the data chip. Several stood out to Kay:

First, Kay readjusting his eyes as a newly reprogrammed former Imperial KX-series droid;  
Jyn Erso’s message;  
Cassian reconstructing Kay’s damaged arm after a mission went bad;  
Observing the Rebels, including Cassian, laugh at a joke during breakfast;  
Kay slapping Cassian;  
Kay flying the stolen Imperial ship with Bodhi Rook;  
and meeting Cassian Andor for the first time.

Droids were incapable of dreaming. Dreams, as he understood, were images that human minds created; hidden deep in their brains. Dreams were not memories. Kay understood that his backup was simply that: a backup of information and data. But K-2SO could not help but equate the feeling of backing up his memory as a kind of dream. How he saw each of his memories downloaded onto the data chip would only ever be seen by himself, much like a dream would only ever be seen by the organic creating the dream.

K-2SO was not sentimental by nature. In the time that he backed up his memory drive, and reliving each memory, he felt something he could not name in the pit of his wires. When the download was complete, K-2SO stood up and felt recharged. He stood up, feeling like he had just finished a power down. K-2 may not be able to conjure up his own images in his hard drive, but he sensed that this was what it felt like for organics who remembered a dream they had had when they awoke: energetic recollection.

No matter the outcome on Scarif, K-2SO was pleased that he had this private moment of viewing his memories, perhaps for the last time. His last departing thought as he walked out of the Droid Maintenance Center was that he pitied the organics who could not dream as droids do.


End file.
